DLA Piper's new digs will be at 509 9th St. in a 10-story structure on a three-quarter-acre parcel that had been the site of a parking lot. The building will be a trophy property on one of the last undeveloped plots of land in the District's Penn Quarter/East End.

While the spot is a highly coveted one, DLA Piper did its research before settling on the property. "We looked around at the relatively limited number of opportunities there are for larger tenants in the marketplace," DLA Piper partner Jay Epstein tells GlobeSt.com. After narrowing the search down to a half-dozen properties--one of which was Waterview, the one-million-sf mixed-use property in Arlington, VA that the company missed out on when Corporate Executive Board Co. decided to lease the entire 620,000-sf office segment--the firm decided the Boston Properties building was, after all, the best option. "Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that we wanted to stay Downtown," explains Epstein. "With a growing emphasis on our federal affairs and legislative practice, the proximity that the site has to Capitol Hill offered many benefits."

DLA Piper's lease offers other significant extras, aside from the location. The firm will have street-level identification, as well as firm identification in the entry, features rarely found in the District in one building. And then there's the space issue; DLA Piper is expecting to experience significant growth within the next two years and anticipates additional growth beyond that time frame. Having existed for years as Piper Rudnick, the firm recently merged with Gray Cary and the UK's DLA and became DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US.

"The lease is flexible and gives us an opportunity for expansion into the remaining space in the building at periodic intervals over the next 15 years," Epstein reveals. "We think it's a terrific opportunity for us to get into a first class building with a first class developer in a building that is unique for this town."

Representing DLA Piper in site selection and lease negotiations were Jones Lang LaSalle managing director Kenneth Rudy and Transwestern Commercial Services executive vice president Mark S. Robbins. Standing in for Boston Properties in the transaction were the company's executive vice president and national director of Acquisitions and Development Raymond Ritchey, and senior vice presidents Peter Johnston and Jon Kaylor. Additionally, DLA Piper relied on Lehman-Smith + McLeish for representation during negotiations with regard to the design of the law firm's space at the Hartman-Cox Architects-designed building.